Balanced Huskers Sweep Oregon State

LINCOLN, Neb. - The top-ranked Nebraska volleyball team finished a perfect weekend with a 25-16, 25-14, 25-12 sweep of Oregon State in the Nebraska Invite on Saturday before 8,196 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Huskers (4-0) posted their 20th straight win dating back to last season, matching their longest win streak since 2006-07. It marks the ninth time in the John Cook era (2000 to present) that the Huskers have won at least 20 matches in a row, but it's the first time since 2008. 

Five Huskers had at least six kills, including eight kills and five blocks by Amber Rolfzen. Kadie Rolfzen had eight kills with seven digs and four blocks. Mikaela Foecke had seven kills on .545 hitting, and Andie Malloy had seven kills. Kelly Hunter tacked on six kills on seven attacks to go with 25 assists and 10 digs. Justine Wong-Orantes had 12 digs, and Kenzie Maloney had nine. 

Nebraska hit .378, its fourth straight match above .300 to begin the season. After a slow start (.258 in the first set), the Huskers hit .320 in set two and .577 in the final frame. 

Mary-Kate Marshall led OSU with 11 kills. The Beavers were held to .054 hitting. Nebraska had a 9-4 edge in blocks and a 43-29 digs advantage. 

Set 1: Oregon State went up 6-1 to begin the match, but kills by Malloy and Amber Rolfzen cut it to 6-4. Another kill by Malloy and a solo block by Amber Rolfzen tied the set 8-8, and Nebraska went up 9-8 on a Hunter kill. With a 16-15 lead, the Huskers finished the set on a 9-1 run to win 25-16. Malloy had three kills down the stretch, and Kadie Rolfzen had back-to-back service aces. Malloy had five kills in the set, while Hunter had four. 

Set 2: The Huskers got off to an 8-2 start before the Beavers clawed back to within 11-9. A Foecke kill extended the lead to 13-9, and three straight Beaver errors made it 16-10. Malloy and Amber Rolfzen combined for another block to push the Huskers' advantage to 18-12. Kadie Rolfzen's third ace of the match and ninth of the season made it 20-13. The Huskers went into intermission up 2-0 with a 25-14 victory. 

Set 3: Kadie Rolfzen and Olivia Boender combined for five kills early as the Huskers went up 9-3. Foecke then killed four in a row for the Huskers, and a Holman and Kadie Rolfzen block made it 15-6. A trio of Amber Rolfzen kills increased the lead to 22-11, and Hunter hammered an overpass to finish the match, 25-12. 

Up Next: Nebraska travels to the Lobo Classic in Albuquerque, N.M., next week. The Huskers will play Montreal in an exhibition on Thursday at 6 p.m. (CT), Arkansas on Friday at 6 p.m. and New Mexico next Saturday at 8:30 p.m.

All-Tournament Team
Kadie Rolfzen, Nebraska (MVP)
Justine Wong-Orantes, Nebraska (Best Libero)
Kelly Hunter, Nebraska
Amber Rolfzen, Nebraska
Lanesha Reagan, Oregon State
Belle Sand, Syracuse
Jess Schaben, Iowa State